One of the great promises of President Obama's election was that of healing racial tensions.
According to a Rasmussen poll released yesterday, a majority of Americans now believes that race relations have gotten worse under President Obama. The Washington Times has the story:
Sixty percent of respondents in a Rasmussen poll released Tuesday said race relations have deteriorated under Mr. Obama, the highest mark since he was elected eight years ago. That number is up 18 points since 2014, when 42 percent said the relationship between the races had worsened.
Just 9 percent said race relations have gotten better under the first black president, and 28 percent said they have stayed about the same.
White respondents were more likely than minorities to say that race relations have gotten worse. Sixty-six percent of whites responded that race relations have worsened under Mr. Obama, compared to 51 percent of minorities, including 38 percent of black respondents. A plurality of black respondents, 49 percent, said race relations are about the same.
Myron Magnet at City Journal laments what could have been–and what actually happened with President Obama in the White House:
It seemed to me that Obama had a unique opportunity to speak about values and virtues to this minority of African Americans—to tell them that his own life exemplified how in twenty-first century America you could get an education, work hard, get married, be an attentive husband and father, and maybe even become president of the United States.
How disappointing that he chose the other tack, stoking grievance and resentment over supposed victimization by all authority, whether from teachers, cops, or potential employers. He and his attorneys general went sniffing out evidences of racism everywhere, and demonizing the police. Even after five officers were assassinated by an enraged black murderer in Dallas, he said, inaccurately, falsely, and callously: “There are legitimate issues that have been raised, and there’s data and evidence to back up the concerns that are being expressed by these [Black Lives Matter] protesters.
And if police organizations and departments acknowledge that there’s a problem and there’s an issue, then that, too, is going to contribute to real solutions. And, as I said yesterday, that is what’s going to ultimately help make the job of being a cop a lot safer. It is in the interest of police officers that their communities trust them and that the kind of rancor and suspicion that exists right now is alleviated.”
Magnet's article is entitled "The Anti-Cop President." Surely, it is just a matter of time before men and women refuse to sign up for the tough job of being police officers.
And you know who is going to suffer most? No, not affluent people who live in gated communities. Low-income people in inner city neighborhoods will ultimately bear the brunt if the day comes that we can't recruit police. But isn't that the way it always is?
Eighty-four Republicans, by the way, but only thirty-two percent of Democrats say race relatons are worse. The number for unaffiliated voters is sixty-seven percent. What is the best way to resolve our racial tensions?
The parties also differ in how to ameliorate racial discord. Republicans are more likely to put emphasis on parental and personal responsibility, while Democrats said the government has not done enough to improve the lives of black Americans.